The present invention relates to an electronic tape measure with comparison capabilities.
It is well known in the field of tape measures that, while the tape is normally completely enclosed within the body of a measure, the amount of extension of the tape from the body is determined through the use of an electric circuit in operation. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,780,440 to James L. Taylor entitled MEASURING INSTRUMENT, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,526,890 to Jay Malina et al entitled LINEAR TAPE TRANSDUCER.
A tape measure can be used in either of two operating modes. Firstly, the operator draws a tape out of a reel and attaches the tape drawn from the reel onto an article to be measured in a manner such that the tip of the tape corresponds to the end of the article. Then, an amount of the drawing of the tape in mutual correspondence with the length of the article can be electrically determined within the tape measure. Alternatively, the operator extracts the tape by only a predetermined length so as to mark the predetermined length on the article by attachment of the tape extracted in this manner.